The sense of possession that the child has in its own room produces much satisfaction. Substantial furniture may be purchased in small sizes and a variety of wall treatments are suggested with interesting friezes
A recently designed wooden bed of attractive appearance shows severely plain lines in the head and foot boards, and in the sides long narrow panels are cut out, through which the covering of the box spring is seen. This bed is made only to order, and is intended for elaborately decorated rooms in which a definite color scheme is carried out. It may be had in any desired width and stained any color to match the other furniture, while the box spring and little pillow and mattress are covered with the same material as the draperies of the room.
Japanese prints are being received with increasing favor and thousands of beautiful designs are particularly appropriate for the children's room. The subjects are chiefly natural history figures and they serve as an inspiration to have stories woven about them
Furniture of a special size for children's rooms is made in a design that is substantial and handsome, by the manufacturer of a well-known and widely used type. There is a wardrobe just five feet high, with compartments for hats, clothing, and shoes; a bureau twenty-nine inches high, with a twenty-inch mirror on it; a bed with high sides, the simple decorations of which match those of the bureau; rocking chairs and straight chairs with leather seats, a settle, and tables of different sizes and shapes. Nothing could be more attractive or complete than a room furnished in this way for a child of six or seven years who has outgrown the daintier surroundings of the nursery. It has all of the dignity of a well-appointed grown-up room, but with everything in proportion to the size of its owner.
Even washstand sets, suitable as to shape and decoration, may be had for the child's room in which no detail is to be omitted. They are little if any smaller than the usual sets, but the decorations are in keeping with those of the other appointments, and the pitchers are designed with a view to their being handled easily by small hands. They are not unlike milk jugs in shape, with a substantial handle over the top and another at the back, so that there is small chance of their slipping while in transit, and the mouth is a definitely formed one that will not fail to pour in the direction intended.
For a comparatively small amount a room may be fitted up with enough distinctive juvenile furnishings to impart individuality and to give the child a sense of possession that it will never have in grown-up surroundings. Even though circumstances are such that it has not had an elaborate nursery, as soon as a child is old enough to have a room of its own there is no reason why the furnishings should not be in keeping, and with the expenditure of a little money a dainty and attractive room may be arranged. High-priced beds and other pieces of furniture are by no means necessary, and, as is often the case, the most reasonably furnished room may be the most satisfactory if a little ingenuity and good taste are brought into service.
